This peak, the second highest in Peru's icy and intimidating Cordillera Huayhuash, has become infamous as the site of Joe Simpson's incredible mountaineering epic, recounted in his famous book Touching the Void. Interest in this peak has increased since the release of a movie about the incident in early 2004. Yerupaja, the nearby highest peak in the range, was once the most famous peak in the Huayhuash, but thanks to Simpson, Siula Grande now ranks among the most famous peaks in the world.

Like other Huayhuash peaks, Siula Grande is very difficult to climb, on the order of a Himalayan ascent. I have heard that the Simpson and Yates ascent route made famous by Touching the Void has never been repeated.